DUI checkpoint nets 6 arrests

Costa Mesa police arrested six people for driving under the influence during a DUI checkpoint last week.

The checkpoint Friday served as a public warning against drinking and driving, said police Sgt. Bryan Wadkins. Police hold 10 checkpoints per year, often on thoroughfares with higher traffic levels. The checkpoints are funded through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This checkpoint was on a southbound strip of Bristol Street just south of Randolph Avenue. The people screened on Friday ranged from patrons leaving South Coast Repertory to women dressed in Halloween costumes.

The officers started at 9 p.m. by screening every third car, and increased the frequency to every other car and finally every car as the night went on and traffic lessened. They handed pamphlets to drivers they released, explaining the risks of drunken driving.

Six arrests is an average number for a Costa Mesa DUI checkpoint, Wadkins said. Two of the people arrested went through the checkpoint, and the other four were pulled over around the perimeter by officers who were on the lookout for cars making illegal U-turns or possibly trying to find ways to escape the checkpoint, Wadkins said.

Police could probably arrest more people if they took the same number of officers working at the checkpoint and instead stationed them outside bars from 11 p.m. until 2 a.m., Wadkins said. But in that case, those arrested would be the only ones getting the message that there are ramifications for drinking and driving.

“We provide a deterrent and an educational opportunity for so many more people than just making that single car stop,” Wadkins said.